LJUDEVIT GAJ I GLAZBA
LJUDEVIT GAJ AND MUSIC

Summary/Abstract: The musical merits of Ljudevit Gaj (1809-1872) have already been discussed and referred to, concerning primarily his participation in the creation of the songs, most widely known as budnice and davorije (rousing songs of lyric and more militant type). Among them the most popular was the Horvatov sloga i zjenjenje [The unanimity and unification of Croats], better known under its textual incipit “Još Hrvatska nij’ propala” [Croatia has not fallen yet], the origin and the context of its spread was meticulously presented by the historian Nikša Stančić. However, almost all information on the topic “Gaj and music” originates from the writings of the musicologist and ethnomusicologist Franjo Ksaver Kuhač (1814-1911), who placed him among the so-called Illyrian musicians, and dedicated many lines to him published in books/booklets and newspaper articles. Among them are Gaj's often cited ideas about what “national” music should be like, which, within the overall view of Gaj's (“musical”) activities, is also the topic of this paper. Further, Gaj's cultural involvement also influenced Zagreb's opera impresarios, such as Heinrich Börnstein, and besides the composer Ferdo Livadić, he was also in contact with other contemporary composers, such as Dragutin von Turanyi. The paper is articulated in four sections in which information is provided about Ljudevit Gaj's relationship to (musical) theatre, about his collaboration with some Croatian composers, about the relationship between Gaj and Franjo Ksaver Kuhač – either directly or mediated by Ferdo Livadić – and, finally, about Ljudevit Gaj and music. Gaj's ideas on music might point to what extent was he himself trained in music, but also to the role of music in his milieu and his views on music as art, figuring as the concluding part of this work.

• Details
• Contents